Organic farm life

 So what have we been doing in Quaama for the last three weeks?  We have been feeding the cow who is currently with calf, about 45 chickens, and giving a flock of geese a snack daily; seeing Nahlia's delight at the cat's fur and whiskers; shoveling cow poo into the front-end bucket of the tractor and spreading it onto the garden;  washing nappies and hanging them in the caravan to dry; sharing great vegetarian meals; building a rabbit-proof fence around the large vegetable patch; watching the geese graze around our caravan; pruning and heavily mulching aubergines, capsicums and chilli plants so they survive the winter; watching Nahlia take more and more steps unaided; cooking roast pumpkin soup; being nice and warm at night; some painting and cleaning up of our host's new yoga studio in Cobargo; using a compost toilet with a beautiful mountainous view; 'catching' escapee goats; chopping firewood for the wood stove which heats water for washing up; taking some pumpkins and green capsicums to organic shops to sell them; waking at the crack of dawn with Nahlia and going to bed at 7pm with her;  enjoying raw chocolate coconut banana cake; visiting beautiful nearby towns and surrounds on Sundays; building square pigeon holes and seating for the studio; picking the remains of the cherry tomato crop; catching drips in saucepans in our caravan; taking a showing once every three days; sliding down a muddy slope to feed the chickens in the pelting rain; watching the geese waddle home in the evening; slashing the tall grass to make mulch; boiling our drinking water (rainwater tanks only); raking goose poo into bags for the garden; jumping on the trampoline with Nahlia; washing up in a sink without running water; baking pumpkin cake; watering seedlings in the greeenhouse; teaching our host how to make sauerkraut; and stashing our gumboots under the caravan to keep them dry and navigating our feet into them when we step out again.

Nahlia's days

 The cat is her new best friend... except when she pulls on his tail or grabs his fur too roughly!

 'Helping' Mummy collect mulch for the garden.

Helping Mummy in the garden has it's rewards... fresh cherry tomatoes!!

The world according to Nahlia....

It's a race between me and the sun to get up in the morning.... I always win.

Crayons are for eating; pencils are for drawing with.

Pasta and cheese are my favourite foods; almost everything else goes on the floor.

I LOVE my shoes and often ask Mummy or Daddy to put them on for me so I can go walking; walking is my favourite thing to do.

Collecting treasure is my next favourite thing to do.  Toys, rocks, sticks, dirt or sand goes into whatever container I can find so I can carry them around and deposit them safely somewhere; or I just collect rocks and put them safely together on Mummy's bed.

Everything new that's worth exploring must be taste-tested; Mummy has thwarted all my efforts to explore goose poop so far....

Cats are lovely and soft and tickle my hands and face; dogs are big and scary and are only safe to observe from Mummy or Daddy's arms.

Beautiful Bermagui beach

Winter at the beach at Bermagui!!  We enjoyed the sun, the surf, and the sand today....  it was a lovely day off from our duties at the farm.

Pumpkin Cake

Here in Quaama they have a large pumpkin harvest ready for eating, so I thought I'd try and use some up in a yummy way! 

Start with 3 eggs, beaten until light and fluffy;
beat in 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup oil, and 3 cups cold pre-cooked mashed pumpkin, and 2 teaspoons vanilla essence;
sift in 3 cups self-raising flour, 4 teaspoons mixed spice, and mix well;
add 1 cup sultanas (or chopped dates) and 3/4 cup chopped walnuts;
pour into two greased loaf tins, bake at 170deg for 50 to 60 minutes.

 The result was delicious and if I'm not looking at it, then I think that I'm eating banana cake!

Quaama farm life

Mallacoota - Quaama

 A feathered visitor, Mallacoota.

 Beautiful outlook from Mallacoota Inlet

 The family of geese who live at the 'Quaama Karma Love Farm'.

Nahlia and Ulf in the beautiful sunshine at the farm.

We arrived in Quaama yesterday - Saturday 8th June - to a hillside farm with goats, geese, a few cows, a pony, chickens, two cats and three dogs!  Nahlia absolutely loves all the animals!  Although the two big dogs are a big scary for her yet.  She loves patting the cats and finds all the others very interesting.

Our first night was one of the coldest nights we've had in our caravan yet, with frost early this morning.  Today Emma has helped feed the chickens, feed and milk the cow, and picked heaps of cherry tomatoes from the garden.  Now we're off to the Italian neighbour's for lunch!

Yea - Orbost - Mallacoota

 The Nutter family - Libby, Rose, Laura and Beth.  Troy is missing...  We stayed in the Nutters' backyard in Yea for three nights.

 Flat tyre half-way between Toolangi and Healesville.

 Green smoothie with Daddy in our caravan, Orbost.

 Hanging out on the main street of Orbost, op-shopping and sausage rolls for lunch!

 The Snowy River (lower), just before it hits the ocean.

 Swinging with Mummy! Oh what fun!

 

 Sharing chips with Daddy, Mallacoota.

Drying damp nappy liners in the caravan, Mallacoota Foreshore Caravan Park.

After a long drive on Wednesday, Yea to Orbost, we were thankful to have our little caravan to rest in.  Nahlia is now used to it - she is as relaxed in it as she was at home and she sleeps easily during the day.

We tried to pull over on the side of the road between Toolangi and Healesville to feed Nahlia and change her nappy, only to drive through a wide, deep puddle and get a flat tyre!  When we arrived at Orbost Caravan Park we discovered a tyre shop opposite the caravan park entrance!  Thankfully it was just a nail and was repairable.

Two nights in Orbost gave us lots of rest, clean clothes and nappies, a bath for Nahlia, a few camping things we needed from the op-shops, and energy to continue on our journey.

We want to see some of the east-Victorian coast, so today we headed out to Mallacoota.  It's not quite at the ocean, though, but rather an inlet.  The waterfront views are nonetheless enjoyable!

Tomorrow we'll head on up to Quaama, and settle in to our new home for the next little while.

We're away!

 On Friday, 31st May, we did three loads of washing (last day with our washing machine)...

 the wreckers came to take away our little red car of 5.5 years... it was a great little car...

 Ulf and Nahlia burnt our excess boxes...

and Ulf finally packed his suitcase!

We didn't manage to leave the cottage in Lilydale until Sunday 2nd June as there was SO much to do before we left and a lot of things to juggle along the way.  Nahlia still needed two sleeps a day (with one of us) and is also teething again and not sleeping well in the night, which means that we're not sleeping well in the night either!  So it was slow going and there was no time to stop for a break!

We are now in Yea, settling into our caravan, which is small but very home-y.  We're visiting friends and de-stressing from the last few days and months leading up to our departure.  I think we need some more 'holiday' time, though.  Nahlia has adjusted very quickly to the caravan.  She was a bit out of sorts for the first day, but now she's doing very well, as she would at home.

Tomorrow morning we're starting out early for Orbost, where we hope to stay for a few nights and relax.